He had come far since his days as a researcher at League of Planet's predecessor Earth Agency. Fed up with constricting routine, he'd struck out on his own. An independent braving outer space, he made his own rules.

As Kioko put it, "Eddie has an amazing intellect!"

"And dynamite in his fists!" Spunky would add.

But the captain had learned the value of uniting with allies, when cooperation toward a shared goal promised advantage.

He watched as Kioko's slender fingers flew across her on-board tele-putor's command console. "Spunky, ease up on accelerators 5 and 7! Earth's League of Planets headquarters is right below us!"

The flyer flicked appropriate toggles. The X-9 began descent. "Can't even see the landing port, from this altitude!" Spunky grinned. "But who'm I to face off with navigational data?!"

"Yeah!" Spunky cracked. "When playing by the rules isn't good enough!"

Captain Atomic shelved the Saucer Log II. "I've learned a lot from McGuffin over the years! He's on the square, for my money!"

Spunky threw over the governing-mandate lever. The X-9 settled into final ground capture.

Kioko snatched up her compact. "I have just moments to prepare for greeting!"

"Man, oh man!" Spunky affected gruffness, as he locked the aerodynamic craft into End Mode. "We're about to land, and all she's thinking about is pretty war paint!"

Eddie chuckled, and formalized the disembarking process. The ship's inner exit whirred to one side.

"Come on, let's find the Commander!" He strode toward the door. "And, Spunk," the burly captain dropped his voice, conspiratorially. "I'd take it easy on our girl here, if I were you! She's gotten us out of a couple of jams, as I recall!"